to download a printable PDF - Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco ...

Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union 

March/ 

April 2012 

Volume 14 

Number 2

T 

the PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 

WHY the BCTGM Endorses 

President Obama for Re-Election 

The greatest responsibility 

of International and local union 

officers and staff is to work hard 

every day to protect the rights 

and interests of our members 

and defend the integrity of the 

BCTGM. This is what we do 

in negotiations and when we 

enforce the letter and spirit of 

our contracts with management. 

This is also the reason the BCTGM is actively involved 

in the political process at the national, state and local levels. 

Whether we like it or not, the hard truth is that decisions 

made by politicians have an extraordinary impact on the 

lives of our members and their families. 

In March, the BCTGM General Executive Board voted 

unanimously and enthusiastically to endorse President 

Barack Obama for re-election. The members of the GEB 

took this action for a number of reasons. 

First and foremost, throughout his presidency, Barack 

Obama has displayed a solid determination to do what 

is best for our nation and all of its citizens, not just the 

privileged few. He has taken on the richest and most 

powerful interests in this country – Wall Street, big banks 

and credit card companies, oil companies and the health 

insurance industry – in order to protect the middle class and 

the most vulnerable in our society. 

From his very first days in office, the President has 

consistently opened his door to organized labor, genuinely 

seeking our counsel and input on the most important 

matters affecting working people. He backed up this talk 

with action by placing in senior positions throughout his 

Administration people who respect and value the labor 

movement and who are sincere advocates for working men 

and women. 

When he took office, President Obama inherited 

from the Bush Administration an economy in freefall with 

hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens losing their 

jobs every month. Entire industries were near collapse. 

Through principled, skillful leadership and a willingness 

to make very difficult, often times politically risky decisions, 

President Obama and his Administration brought our nation 

back from the brink of economic collapse, stabilized the 

economy and put it on a path of growth and job creation. 

While there is a long way to go and far too many Americans 

are still out of work, President Obama’s plan of putting 

working families and the middle class first offers the best 

hope for a more prosperous future. 

In assessing the Republican candidates, including 

the likely nominee Mitt Romney, our Board saw a group 

of politicians squarely lined up behind the policies of the 

Republican House leadership – ending Medicare as we know 

it, privatizing Social Security, eliminating controls on the 

business practices of corporations and banks and expanding 

tax breaks for oil companies and corporations that move 

jobs and profits overseas. 

“Unions are the cornerstone of the 

middle class…America cannot have 

a strong, growing economy without 

a strong, growing middle class and 

without a strong labor movement.” 

-President Obama, September 5, 2011 

These are policies that benefit only 

the wealthiest among us, multinational 

corporate bosses and Wall Street 

insiders; policies that caused the worst 

economic crisis and hardship since the 

Great Depression; policies that would 

erode the standard of living of working 

families and jeopardize the future for 

our children and grandchildren. 

If we want an idea of what would be in store for union 

members with a Mitt Romney presidency and a House and 

Senate controlled by Republicans, we need only look to 

Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and other states where 

right-wing governors and legislators have declared war on 

workers and unions, steamrolling into law the most antiunion 

legislation and regulations this country has seen in 

decades. 

In a Mitt Romney presidency, the war on workers and 

unions now centered in the states would be brought to the 

national stage with the very real possibility of a federal 

“right-to-work for less” law. 

And, we can be certain that our employers would be 

salivating at the opportunity to take maximum advantage in 

negotiations of a renewed climate of government-sanctioned 

anti-unionism just as they did during the Bush years. 

For the BCTGM, our mission is clear. If we are going 

to meet our primary responsibility of protecting the interests 

of our members and their families as well as defend the 

integrity of our Union, then we must put forth the very best 

effort we can muster to re-elect President Obama. There is 

simply too much at stake to do anything less! 

Frank Hurt 

BCTGM International President 

BCTGM News 

Official Publication of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco 

Workers and Grain Millers International Union 

10401 Connecticut Avenue, Kensington, Maryland 20895-3961 

(301) 933-8600 

www.bctgm.org 

Frank Hurt, Editor 

Corrina A. Christensen, Assistant Editor 

BCTGM General Executive Board 

President Frank Hurt • Secretary-Treasurer David B. Durkee 

Vice Presidents Steve Bertelli • Sean Kelly • Micheal T. Konesko 

Arthur Montminy • Robert Oakley • James Rivers • Randy Roark 

BCTGM General Executive Board Members 

Joyce Alston • Thomas Bingler • Edward Burpo • Butch Henley 

Barry Jenkins • Johnny Jackson • Paul LaBuda • Richard Lewis 

Vester Newsome • Ron Piercey • Donna Scarano 

Brad Schmidt • Doyle Townson 

BCTGM News (ISSN 1525-4860) is published bi-monthly by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers 

and Grain Millers International Union, 10401 Connecticut Avenue, Kensington, MD 20895-3961. Periodicals 

postage paid at Kensington, MD and at additional mailing offices. Subscription to new members 

only. Postmaster: Send address changes to BCTGM News, 10401 Connecticut Avenue, Kensington, MD 

20895-3961. 

2 BCTGM News

BCTGM Sugar Locals Meet in Red River Valley 

East Grand Forks, Minn.— 

Thirty-four representatives of 11 

BCTGM local unions met April 

14 to discuss issues of importance 

to union members employed in 

the sugar industry. Chief among 

those issues was American Crystal 

Sugar’s (ACS) lockout of 1,300 

BCTGM members in Minnesota, 

North Dakota, and Iowa nearly nine 

months ago. 

Participants in the sugar 

meeting included representatives 

from Locals 167G (Grand Forks, 

N.D.), 267G (Crookston, Minn.), 

372G (Hillsboro, N.D.), 283G 

(Twin Falls, Idaho), 369G (Renville, 

Minn.), 282G (Heyburn, Idaho), 

284G (Nampa, Idaho), 285G 

(Sidney, Mont.), 262G (Croswell, 

Mich.), 263G (Bay City, Mich.) and 

260G (Caro, Mich.). This is the fifth 

meeting of BCTGM sugar locals 

since 2008. The group also met in 

2009, 2010 and 2011. 

BCTGM International 

Secretary-Treasurer/Director of 

Organization David B. Durkee 

led the meeting and provided a 

forum for the local union leaders to 

discuss issues, concerns, bargaining 

strategies and the lockout of 

fellow union members at American 

Crystal. Participants of the meeting 

represent workers at Amalgamated 

Sugar Co. in Idaho, Sidney Sugars in 

Montana (owned by ACS), Michigan 

Sugar Co., Southern Minnesota Beet 

Sugar Cooperative, and Minn-Dak 

Farmers Cooperative. 

Locked out union members 

discussed the impact the dispute 

has had on their families and 

communities since it began on 

August 1, 2011. 

“It was important for us to 

hold our meeting in the Red River 

Valley this year so that we could 

hear from workers affected by this 

lockout. Also, we wanted to show 

our solidarity in 

person,” notes 

BCTGM Local 

260G President 

Randy Joles, 

who works 

for Michigan 

Sugar. 

The 

local union 

representatives 

shared 

information 

with one 

another about 

the state of the 

sugarbeet industry and the impact 

the lockout is having beyond Crystal 

Sugar. “We are seeing competitors 

of Crystal Sugar paying out higher 

payments to co-op members and 

increasing capital expenditures,” 

said BCTGM Local 369G 

President Wayne Trager, who is 

employed by Southern Minnesota 

Beet Sugar Cooperative. “It’s 

pretty clear to us that Crystal 

Sugar’s competitors are seeing 

great opportunities because of the 

lockout. This situation is hurting 

our brothers and sisters here in the 

Red River Valley, and it’s damaging 

the company, perhaps for the long 

term. That’s not good for workers 

or shareholders.” 

The BCTGM members visited 

with locked out workers outside the 

East Grand Forks factory following 

the formal meeting proceedings. 

“The entire BCTGM 

International is behind the locked 

out ACS members. We will stand 

strong with them as long as it takes 

to win justice,” says Durkee, who 

also participated in the solidarity 

rally outside the East Grand Forks 

facility. 

The locked out ACS members 

welcomed the solidarity of the 

BCTGM sugar locals. “Having our 

brothers and sisters from across 

the country join us outside the 

plant is extremely important in 

this struggle,” reflects Local 167G 

member Carla Kennedy, who is 

locked out of her job at the East 

Grand Forks ACS factory. 

March/April 2012 www.bctgm.org 3

BCTGM Enthusiastically Endorses 

Barack Obama 

Following the lead of the 

AFL-CIO Executive 

Council, the BCTGM 

announced on April 5 that 

the General Executive Board 

unanimously 

voted to 

endorse 

President 

Barack Obama 

for re-election. 

In 

announcing 

the Board’s 

decision, 

BCTGM 

International 

President 

Frank Hurt 

explained, “After assessing the 

positions of the Republican 

candidates for President on the 

issues that matter most to our 

members and their families, and 

comparing them with those of 

President Obama, our Board 

spoke loudly and clearly. 

“Each of the Republican 

candidates for President has 

lined up squarely behind the 

policies of the Republican 

House leadership; policies that 

benefit only the wealthiest 

among us, multinational 

corporate bosses and Wall 

Street titans. These policies 

would erode the standard of 

living of working families and 

jeopardize the future for our 

children and grandchildren. 

The BCTGM 

intends to engage 

our members and 

their families fully in 

this critical campaign 

for the future of our 

great nation. 

“Moreover, the Republican 

presidential candidates have 

thoroughly embraced policies 

specifically 

designed 

to weaken 

organized labor 

and undermine 

the rights of 

workers in the 

workplace.” 

Hurt added, 

“The BCTGM 

is proud 

to endorse 

President 

Obama. 

Throughout his presidency, 

Barack Obama has displayed 

extraordinary leadership, 

vision, courage and 

determination to do 

what is best for our 

in2012 

nation and all of its citizens, not 

just the privileged few. 

“The BCTGM intends to 

engage our members and their 

families fully in this critical 

campaign for the future of our 

great nation. There is far too 

much at stake for anything less 

than the very best effort we can 

muster.” 

4 BCTGM News

President Obama’s Accomplishments 

As President Obama’s first term nears its end, it is time to take stock of his 

accomplishments, as well as to assess progress toward the goals not yet achieved 

since his historic election. 

During his first two years in office, the President made substantial progress in 

dismantling the dangerous legacy left by President George W. Bush and took many 

steps to put in place a truly progressive, pro-worker agenda. In fact, Obama’s first 

year in office has been marked by a series of significant achievements, including 

creating jobs as a result of the economic stimulus, eliminating wasteful spending, 

increasing government transparency, and expanding federal health insurance 

programs to cover millions more children. Among the President’s accomplishments: 

HEALTH CARE REFORM. The historic Affordable Care Act (ACA) puts 

the U.S. on the path toward quality, affordable health care for all Americans. 

Already, 2.5 million more young adults have health coverage because parents 

can keep dependents on their plans until age 26; 54 million additional Americans 

received preventive coverage without required cost-sharing; 3.6 million Medicare 

beneficiaries saved more than $2.1 billion on prescription drugs in the Part D 

“donut hole.” 

PASSING STIMULUS, GENERATING JOBS. On February 17, 2009, 

President Obama signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 

the largest economic stimulus and jobs program in history. In December 2009, the 

nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a report estimating that 

“in the third quarter of calendar year 2009, an additional 600,000 to 1.6 million 

people were employed in the United States” due to that legislation. According to 

the White House Council of Economic Advisers, CBO has increased its estimate to 

800,000 to 2.4 million additional employed through the fourth quarter of that year. 

PROMOTING WORKERS’ RIGHTS. The Obama Administration has moved 

aggressively to protect workers’ rights, workers’ pay and workers’ health and safety 

on the job. President Obama named experience worker advocates to the NLRB 

and the National Mediation Board; with new Democratic majorities, these boards 

have taken steps to level the playing field for workers who want to form and join 

unions. One of the first bills the President signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter 

Fair Pay Act, which expands the rights of workers to sue employers over wage 

discrimination claims. 

WALL STREET REFORM. To prevent another financial collapse, the Obama 

Administration proposed and worked to pass the most comprehensive reform 

of the financial sector since the 1930s. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform 

law is a major win for workers and the middle class over Wall Street greed and 

irresponsible risk taking. 


The Largest, Most Efficient Bakery 

Canada’s largest, most 

modern and efficient 

commercial bakery 

opened in this fall with 

BCTGM Local 

In 2012, it is 

expected that the 

plant will employ 

approximately 

250 to 300 

employees and hire 

an additional 31 

seasonal workers. 

264 (Toronto) 

members 

producing some 

of the country’s 

most loved bread 

products. 

The $100 

million Canada 

Bread plant 

covers 385,000 

square feet 

in Hamilton, 

Ontario. The 

bakery is a division of Maple Leaf 

Foods, and produces a variety 

of fresh baked products, mostly 

from the Dempster’s and Villaggio 

lines. The bakery, dubbed “The 

Trillium,” is capable of producing 

250,000 loaves of bread per day. 

Local 264 bakers produce 

white and whole wheat breads, 

buns, English muffins and tortillas 

using Canadian wheat. Once fully 

operational, the bakery will have 

at least seven lines. By the end 

of 2012, it is expected that the 

plant will employ approximately 

250 to 300 employees and hire an 

additional 31 seasonal workers. 

When Canada 

Bread announced 

it was building the 

new “super bakery” 

in Hamilton, it 

closed its bakery 

in Toronto, where 

members 

of BCTGM 

Local 

264 were 

employed. 

All production 

from that 

plant was shifted to the 

new Hamilton bakery and 

all 80 union members 

affected by the plant closing 

were offered jobs. Local 

264 successfully gained 

recognition at the new 

Trillium bakery because 

it represents workers at 

Canada Bread’s Nebo 

Bakery, also located in 

Hamilton. The existing 

contract with that bakery 

contains language that gives Local 

264 recognition language for any 

new facility built in the city of 

Hamilton. 

Local 264 will gain an average 

of 195 new members thanks to 

this effort. BCTGM International 

President Frank Hurt praised, 

“Local 264’s tireless efforts to 

organize the new facility.” 

The plant is also considered 

6 BCTGM News

in the World is BCTGM PROUD 

one of the most environmentally 

friendly and most technologically 

advanced, using new, “green 

technologies” to help control 

heating, cooling, lighting, and 

wastewater. 

The bakery was built under 

the Leadership in Energy and 

Environmental Design (LEED) 

New Construction program, 

a green building rating system 

that covers an explicit set of 

environmental performance 

criteria, organized within five 

categories: sustainable sites; water 

efficiency; energy and atmosphere; 

materials and resources; and 

indoor environmental quality. 


SAFEJOBS 

SAVELIVES 

KEEP THE PROMISE ALIVE 

F 

our decades ago, 

Congress passed 

the Occupational 

Safety and Health 

Act, promising every 

worker the right to a 

safe job. Unions and our 

allies have fought hard to 

make that promise a reality 

– winning protections that 

have made jobs safer, saved 

hundreds of thousands of 

lives and prevented millions of 

workplace injuries and illnesses. 

But our work is not 

done. Many job hazards are 

unregulated and uncontrolled. 

Some employers, like Massey 

Energy and BP, cut corners and 

violate the law, putting workers 

in serious danger and costing 

lives. Each year thousands of 

workers are killed and millions 

more injured or diseased 

because of their jobs. 

The Obama Administration 

has moved forward to 

strengthen protections with 

tougher enforcement on 

serious violators 

and proposed 

new safeguards 

for workplace 

hazards. But 

business 

groups and 

the Republican 

majority in the 

U.S. House of 

Representatives 

are attacking these stronger 

measurers, falsely claiming 

they kill jobs. They are pushing 

legislation to make it difficult, if 

not impossible, to issue needed 

safeguards to protect workers 

and the public. 

We cannot and will not let 

them turn back the clock and 

destroy the progress we have 

Each year 

thousands of 

workers are killed 

and millions more 

injured or 

diseased because 

of their jobs. 

made to make jobs safer and 

save lives. Safety laws and 

regulations don’t kill jobs—but 

unsafe jobs do kill workers. 

On April 28, the BCTGM 

and all unions 

of the AFL-CIO 

observe Workers 

Memorial Day 

to remember 

those who have 

suffered and 

died on the job 

and to renew 

the fight for safe 

workplaces. This 

year we will fight to create good 

jobs in this country that are 

safe and healthy. We will fight 

for the freedom of workers 

to form unions and, through 

their unions, to speak out and 

bargain for respect and a better 

future. We will demand that the 

country fulfill the promise of 

safe jobs for all. 

8 BCTGM News

WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY • APRIL 28 

Decades of struggle by workers and their unions 

have resulted in significant improvements in 

working conditions. The Obama Administration has 

moved forward to strengthen worker protections. 

But business groups and the Republican majority 

in the U.S. House of Representatives are trying to 

block stronger measurers and roll back existing 

protections. It is time to organize, take action and 

fight for safe jobs for workers including... 

Defending safety and health protections and workers’ rights from 

industry attacks. 

Requiring employers to find and fix hazards and implement a 

worksite safety and health program to prevent injuries, illnesses and 

deaths. 

Winning new workplace safeguards for silica, combustible dust and 

infectious diseases. 

Prohibiting employer policies and practices that discourage reporting 

of workplace injuries. 

Protecting workers from ergonomic hazards that still cripple and 

injure more workers than any other workplace hazard. 

Increasing attention to the safety and health of Hispanic and 

immigrant workers who are at much greater risk of death and injury. 

Strengthening protections for miners, including tighter standards for 

coal dust to protect against Black Lung. 

Passing the Protecting America’ s Workers Act to provide OSHA 

protection for all workers who lack protection, stronger criminal 

and civil penalties for companies that seriously violate job safety laws 

and improved anti-retaliation protections for workers who raise job 

safety concerns. 

Ensuring workers’ right to have a voice on the job, and to 

freely choose to join a union without employer interference or 

intimidation. 


OSHA Scrutinizes 

Employer Safety Programs that 

Discourage Reporting of Injuries 

In mid-March the Occupational Safety and 

Health Administration (OSHA), announced 

a new policy memorandum, which was 

sent to all Regional Administrators 

and Whistleblower Program 

Managers, outlining the Agency’s 

policy concerning Employer Safety 

Incentive and/or Disincentive 

Policies and Practices. 

While the memorandum does 

not create any new protections for 

workers, it clearly articulates what 

types of safety programs violate the 

spirit of the Act. 

For years, labor unions and 

occupational safety advocates have been 

urging OSHA to look more closely at Employer safety 

incentive programs that either punish a worker for 

reporting an injury, or offers workers incentives to keep 

their injuries quiet. 

The memorandum makes several things very clear: 

• Section 11 (c) of the OSH Act prohibits 

an employer from discriminating against an 

employee because the employee reports an 

injury or illness. 

• Reporting a work-related injury or illness is 

a core employee right, and retaliating against 

a worker for reporting an injury or illness is 

illegal discrimination under the Act. 

• There are several types of workplace 

safety policies and programs that could 

discourage reporting and could constitute 

unlawful discrimination and a violation of 

Section 11 (c). 

According to the memorandum, “if employees 

do not feel free to report injuries or illnesses, the 

employer’s entire workforce is put at risk. Employers 

do not learn of and correct dangerous conditions that 

have resulted in injuries, and injured employees may 

not receive the proper medical attention, or 

the workers’ compensation benefits to 

which they are entitled.” 

In the memorandum, OSHA 

outlined the most common 

potentially discriminatory policies, 

including: 

• Policies that take disciplinary 

action against employees who are 

injured on the job, regardless of the 

circumstance surrounding the injury (i.e 

through no fault of their own). 

• Policies that punish workers for being injured 

on the grounds that they violated a company 

safety rule. 

• Policies that restrict the time in which an 

employee can report a workplace injury or 

illness. 

• Policies that intentionally or unintentionally 

provide an employee an incentive NOT to 

report an injury or illness (i.e. safety incentive 

programs that either offer rewards to 

employees who do not report an injury, or take 

away rewards from employees who do report 

an injury). 

OSHA also found that the potential for unlawful 

discrimination under these types of policies may 

increase when management or supervisors receive 

bonuses if injury reporting is low or non-existent. 

According to BCTGM International President 

Frank Hurt, this is a good first step in addressing the 

problem of employer safety programs that punish 

workers for being injured on the job. “Perhaps further 

enforcement in this area will force employers to focus 

on eliminating hazards, instead of punishing our 

members for suffering an injury on the job,” said Hurt. 

10 BCTGM News

Rivers Elected Vice President Region Four 

O 

n April 1, the BCTGM 

International General 

Executive Board elected 

International Representative 

James Rivers as Fourth Region 

International Vice President. He 

Hurt Appoints Woods, Howard as International Representatives 

BCTGM International President 

Frank Hurt has appointed two new 

International Representatives to the 

BCTGM staff. 

Dennis Howard (above), 

former Business Agent/Financial 

Secretary of Local 280 (Evansville, 

Ind.), will serve as a Region Three 

International Representative. David 

Woods, former Business Agent/ 

Financial Secretary of Local 25 

(Chattanooga, Tenn.), will serve 

as a Region Four International 

Representative. 

Howard joined Local 280 in 

1979 when he went to work at 

Colonial Bakery (Earthgrains/Sara 

Lee) in Owensboro, Ky. In 1982, 

he was elected chief shop steward 

replaces Anthony 

Johnson, who 

announced his 

retirement at the 

meeting. 

International 

President Frank 

Hurt said, “I am 

delighted that the 

board elected James, 

as his record of 

service, combined 

with his knowledge 

and skills are 

outstanding. I am 

confident that James 

will do an excellent 

job in serving the 

International and our members in 

the fourth region.” 

Rivers became a member of 

BCTGM Local 42 (Atlanta) in May 

1974 when he went to work as a 

warehouseman and forklift operator 

for the bakery. He was elected as a 

Local 280 Trustee to the Executive 

board in 1985, and soon after was 

elected as President of the local. In 

1998, Howard was elected Business 

Agent/Financial Secretary, a 

position he served for 14 years. 

Howard is the President 

of the BCTGM Third Region 

Council. He has sat on the BCTGM 

Policy Committee, the Credential 

Committee, and the Committee on 

Committees at previous BCTGM 

International Constitutional 

Conventions – the union’s highest 

governing body. 

Howard has been a delegate to 

the Evansville Labor Council, the 

Owensboro Council of Labor and 

serves as the Financial Secretary for 

the Evansville Labor Temple. He 

resides in Owensboro. 

Woods (right) joined the 

BCTGM in August 1989 when he 

went to work at White Lilly Foods 

Co. as a maintenance mechanic. In 

2004, he was elected as Assistant 

at J.H. Filbert, Inc. in Atlanta. 

He served as a shop steward, 

contract committee member and 

an executive board member of the 

local. 

In July 1978, Rivers was hired 

as an International Representative, 

a position he has served for 35 

years. He proudly notes that labor 

runs deep in his blood. “My father 

was a member of the Textile 

Workers Union for 35 years and 

then a member of BCTGM 

Local 25 until his retirement. He 

shaped me as a worker, and I have 

always believed that all workers 

are valuable to the success of a 

business or industry and should 

be treated accordingly,” concludes 

Rivers. 

He and his wife of 39 years, 

Debra, reside in Fayetteville, Ga. 

They have three grown sons, 

Daniel, Timothy and Austin. 

Business Agent for Local 25. He 

was elected the local’s Business 

Agent/Financial Secretary in 2007, 

a position he served until his recent 

appointment. 

Woods served on the 

Committee on Constitution at 

the BCTGM’s 38 th Constitutional 

Convention in 2010. 

A 2010 George Meany Award 

recipient, Woods is a Trustee of the 

Chattanooga Central Labor Council. 

He has also served as a committee 

member of the Knoxville-Oakridge 

Labor Council. He resides in 

Knoxville, Tenn. 


Panera Bread Bakers 

Vote to Join BCTGM 

Kalamazoo, Mich. – If you 

drive by a Panera Bread Café on any 

given morning, you will be treated 

to the decadent smell of freshly 

baking bread and sweet goods, 

thanks to the artful skills of Panera 

Bread bakers. 

These bakers work from 

10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. to make 

sure fresh breads, rolls, cakes and 

other baked goods are carefully 

molded and prepared for the early 

morning Café opening. And if you 

were in Kalamazoo, Mich. early on 

March 23, you may have heard the 

joyful shouts of the Panera bakers 

celebrating their union victory. 

When the 18 bakers, who are 

employed by the Bread of Life 

Franchise –which owns all Panera 

locations along the I-94 corridor of 

Southwest Michigan— decided they 

had enough of being improperly 

compensated as skilled bakers, they 

reached out to the BCTGM through 

the International’s 

website, 

www.BCTGM.org. 

The Panera bakers 

were concerned with 

inadequate medical 

insurance, insufficient 

time off, unsafe 

working conditions 

and improvements 

to the bakeries that 

were being ignored by 

management. When 

90 percent of the Panera bakers 

signed union cards, they approached 

management and requested 

recognition as a union. 

Rather than honoring the 

request of the skilled bakers to 

These bakers 

work from 10:00 

p.m. to 6:00 a.m. 

to make sure 

baked goods are 

carefully molded 

and prepared for 

the early morning 

Café opening. 

become union, the owners of the 

Michigan Panera franchise hired a 

law-firm to delay a union vote by 

claiming the I-94 Division was not 

an appropriate unit. The National 

Labor Relations Board (NLRB) 

ruled these bakers were indeed 

an appropriate unit and directed 

a secret ballot election be held on 

March 22. 

Bread of Life/ 

Panera Bread also 

hired one of the 

largest known union 

busting consulting 

firms to fight the 

unionization effort. 

“I felt like we were 

prisoners of Panera, 

rather than bakers 

of Panera,” one of 

the bakers recalls. 

“They would work us all night and 

then force us to attend mandatory 

captive audience meetings in the 

morning.” 

Another Panera baker notes, 

“They would keep us sleep 

deprived, hungry and then 

cram us with anti-union Panera 

propaganda.” 

The workers stood strong 

through eight weeks of threats, 

intimidation and other tactics used 

by management in an attempt 

to pressure the workers to vote 

against the union. 

Following the NLRB election 

on March 22, when workers 

voted at each of the six Panera 

café locations in Southwestern 

Michigan, the NLRB Agents 

counted the ballots and announced 

the bakers had won by a two-toone 

margin to be represented by 

the BCTGM. 

According to International 

Representative and Organizer John 

Price, “The company is doing 

everything in its power to stop 

the Panera bakers from becoming 

union members by filing erroneous 

objections to the election, which 

is really an effort to stall, avoid 

and delay negotiations for a first 

union contract.” 

12 BCTGM News

NDP Choose Mulcair 

to Lead Charge Against Harper 

The New Democratic Party (NDP) of 

Canada turned the page on a sad chapter in 

its storied history, as delegates at the NDP 

leadership convention in Toronto selected Thomas 

Mulcair to become the new leader of the party, 

taking over for the late Jack Layton. 

“It is with great honour but 

also with humility that I accept 

this position,” said Mulcair. “The 

challenges facing me and my 

caucus are significant, but we have 

a tremendous team of dedicated 

and hard-working MPs. I know 

that by working together we can 

continue to achieve great results 

for Canadian families.” 

The NDP surprised everyone 

in last May’s federal election by 

winning an unprecedented 102 

seats, becoming the Official 

Opposition. The previous NDP 

best was 43 seats in 1988. Much of 

the credit for the breakthrough was 

given to dynamic NDP leader Jack 

Layton, and his ability to reach voters in Quebec. 

However, the celebration didn’t last long as Layton 

died of cancer less than four months later. 

Nycole Turmel took over the leadership post 

until a leadership convention could be held to pick a 

permanent replacement to Layton. 

The challenge of uniting the NDP, and ensuring 

“We won’t rest 

until we defeat 

the Harper 

Conservatives in 

2015 and form the 

first New Democrat 

government.” 

-new NDP Leader 

Thomas Mulcair 

the party maintains its strong position in Quebec 

now falls to Mulcair, who is no stranger to the 

politics in Quebec. 

Mulcair was born in Ottawa, the second oldest 

of ten children, but was raised in Laval, North 

of Montreal. Mulcair, a lawyer by trade, was first 

elected to the Quebec National 

Assembly in 1994 as MNA for 

Chomedey. He was reelected three 

times and served as critic for Justice 

and for Industry, as well as Minister 

of Sustainable Development, 

Environment and Parks. 

At Jack Layton’s invitation, he 

joined Canada’s New Democrats 

at the beginning of 2007. Mulcair 

became the first NDP MP in the 

province of Quebec in 20 years, by 

winning a by-election in Outremont. 

He became Jack Layton’s Quebec 

Lieutenant and Co-Deputy Leader 

of the NDP. 

After the leadership convention, 

Mulcair stated that he was ready 

to get to work immediately. “There is no time to 

lose. With the reckless Conservatives budget cuts 

we know are coming next week, Canadian families 

expect the Official Opposition to stand up to 

Stephen Harper and hold him to account. And this 

is exactly what the NDP will continue to do, every 

single day.” 

Correction 

The January/February issue of the BCTGM News included a feature on the 100 th Birthday of the 

Oreo Cookie. We listed the BCTGM locals that proudly manufacture Kraft-Nabisco products 

throughout North America. Not included in that list was BCTGM Local 426 members who 

produce a variety of Nabisco (Christie Brown) products in Toronto, Ontario. 


11 THINGS 

THE WEALTHIEST AMERICANS COULD BUY FOR THE U.S. 

THAT MOST FAMILIES CAN’T AFFORD FOR THEMSELVES 

Collectively, the richest 400 households in the U.S. own $1.37 trillion dollars; a number 

so high it’s nearly impossible to comprehend. To help put it in perspective, here’s 11 

things that their combined wealth—$1.37 trillion—could buy. 

A NEW CAR for every family in the U.S. 

Fill up every U.S. driver’s tank with GAS - and 

keep it full for 3 1/2 years. 

Pay off every STUDENT LOAN for every single 

person in the U.S. 

Pay off ALL CREDIT CARD DEBT for every single 

person in the U.S. 

MORTGAGE PAYMENTS for every homeowner 

in the U.S. for 14 months. 

RENT for every tenant in the U.S. for three years. 

All FORECLOSED HOMES in 2007 and 2008. 

Pay the ANNUAL SALARIES of 19 million families 

for one year. 

A $10,000 BONUS to every single worker 

in the country. 

TRIPLE the TEACHERS in the U.S. and then give 

each teacher in the U.S. a $30,000 RAISE. 

Replace 70% of the MONEY lost in the 

Great Recession of 2008. 

Infographic: United for a Fair Economy, faireconomy.org 

14 BCTGM News

Motor Club for Union 

Members Beats AAA 

Take the BCTGM Power/Union Plus Motor 

Club on your next trip and the next time you 

have a roadside emergency, you’ll be happy 

you’re a member. The BCTGM Power/Union 

Plus Motor Club offers roadside assistance 

program that’s a better deal than AAA. 

With the BCTGM Power/Union Plus Motor 

Club, you can have peace of mind for your 

entire family for just $69.00 per year. And when 

you sign up for a full year, you can receive $40 in 

gas reimbursements. 

To enroll call 800-454-8722 or go online to unionplus.org. 

Motor Club Features 

Emergency roadside assistance and locksmith services up to 

$125 per service call. Three auto service calls per year for you 

and your family. 

$40 rebate towards gas purchases when paying for a yearly 

membership. 

Roadside assistance plans cover you whether you are the 

driver or a passenger in any auto. 

27,000 independent, dependable auto repair and car 

towing service providers across the United States to 

ensure 24-hour emergency roadside assistance. 

All calls answered in the United States of America. 

Free maps, road atlases, trip routing, travel assistance, towing 

services, locksmith services, mobile repair services. 

ASE certified mechanics available for second opinions on 

auto repairs and services. 


Printed in the U.S.A. 

@BCTGM 

follow us on 

twitter.com/BCTGM

to download a printable PDF - Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?